I Thought Your Friend's Sibling Wasn't a Girl? - Chapter 82

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 82
They could not accept a defeat they had not anticipated. In a sense, it was inevitable.
To them, the Lux Knight Brigade was not a fellowship of equals, but rather a rabble of incompetents far beneath their station—barely worthy of the title Knight at all.
An unacceptable loss invariably breeds suspicion.
“They must have used Foul Play!”
“We cannot accept this result!”
Their cries burst forth without a moment’s thought for how shameful they appeared to those around them.
“Hmm, hmm. I’ll admit, it is rather odd, isn’t it?”
“Mm-hmm. The fact they’re making such a fuss… there must be something to it.”
“Ah, it stands to reason they would have, doesn’t it?”
As their outcry spread through the gathered crowd and an unsettling atmosphere began to settle—
“…Are you saying you cannot accept the outcome of the match?”
Yugin appeared on the Training Ground.
* * *
Olivia took in every detail of the spectacle unfolding before her eyes, missing nothing.
Those grinding their teeth and flailing about, refusing to accept their defeat, and those swayed by them, their eyes now filled with suspicion—it was all utterly contemptible.
Yugin had arrived at precisely the right moment. Olivia watched his back as he stepped onto the Training Ground, then turned her attention to her fellow unit members.
A novice Knight. Still just an Academy student, not yet granted formal knighthood.
Despite bearing such unremarkable titles, the “seniors” gazed upon Olivia without a shred of doubt.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with determined expressions, as though they had only each other to rely upon amid those whose eyes brimmed with suspicion—it was a sight to behold.
“The witnesses and judges alike reported feeling nothing amiss during this Duel. Are you saying you cannot accept their testimony?”
Yugin’s voice rang out across the Training Ground.
All held their breath at the appearance of one who rarely showed himself in public. Only Lumen, the Knight Commander, dared raise his voice in opposition.
“And yet the outcome is most unexpected, is it not, Dignitas? I hope you will understand our suspicions.”
“An unexpected result, you say. Then you believe our unit members truly used Foul Play to defeat you?”
“Hmm. Well, I wouldn’t say Foul Play exactly…”
The battle of wills between the commanders unfolded as though they had been waiting for it.
Yugin’s violet eyes flicked briefly toward where Olivia stood. She gave a single nod, then turned her gaze back to the murmuring unit members.
“In other words… this Practice Match was not legitimate.”
“Why? Because we won?”
“It seems so. We are always the ones who lose, after all. The result is too difficult to accept.”
Olivia let out a short laugh.
She had anticipated this response. It was nothing more than human nature.
“Olivia, what do you do? Do you have something in mind?”
“Panya. This doesn’t require any thinking.”
“…What on earth are you planning to do now?”
Panya’s eyes widened as she asked.
Anyone watching would think I cause trouble every time. Olivia muttered quietly to herself.
What Olivia was about to propose was neither trouble nor impulsive. It was something she had kept in mind throughout every moment of planning and preparation for this day.
Just then, words were being spoken on the Training Ground that they had all been waiting to hear.
“If you don’t believe us, shall we conduct another Duel? This time, you may inspect them for anything unusual before the match begins—or check whether they’ve been using magical power in secret, if that will satisfy you.”
After all, the Lux Knight Brigade had already secured victory. A final Duel would have no bearing on the overall outcome…
Yet Olivia had long since decided who would be the protagonist of this final match.
Olivia moved forward without hesitation.
And where those steps came to rest was—
“What, what is this?”
“Senior, are you going to fight?”
“What?”
Not Sena, but Luca—standing with arms crossed, his sharp gaze having been fixed on the Training Ground the entire time.
* * *
Luca could scarcely believe what was happening.
“Luca, Kunta really won!”
“It’s incredible! Truly incredible!”
His comrades had claimed victory in their Practice Match and returned with joyful faces.
And at the heart of all this was someone he had long rejected.
A young Noble Lady with chestnut hair and green eyes. Or rather, the intern student Olivia Kishier.
And she now stood before him, urging him to make a choice.
“Senior. I would very much like you to fight in the final Duel.”
Presenting him with options he had never once considered.
He had never dreamed of Public Recognition since the day he was born.
Or had he never dared to dream of it? Was it rather that he had never permitted himself to even conceive of the possibility?
When such doubt crept in, he would dutifully extinguish his feelings, suffocate his very breath.
It was the most effective method of accepting his place.
But now, before his eyes stood someone determined to drag him into the light.
“To try changing things.”
“Changing… things?”
“Yes. To try changing things.”
Olivia Kishier was a Noble Lady. A Noble Lady who had never known hunger so keen she had to eat grass to satisfy it, never stumbled under another’s boot heel while begging in the streets.
A “Noble Lady” accustomed to being served rather than serving, raised watching only the lives of the wealthy, never glimpsing the struggles of the poor.
“Lady Kishier. You truly seem every inch a noblewoman.”
“The world I grew up in was narrow. But I will try my best to understand from here on.”
“Do you think that will help?”
“At least I might come to understand you better. Your heart, Senior.”
Yet this was the first time—someone from another world had stepped forward claiming they wished to understand him.
The image of Olivia over these past months flickered through his mind, along with the sight of her these past few days as she had watched him openly, enduring his cruelty. At the very least, Olivia had been consistent throughout.
And so Luca, for the first time in his life, chose to break his own stubbornness.
“Can I truly trust you?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m asking if I can trust you. Olivia. You.”
Olivia. The unfamiliar sound lingered in his mouth for quite some time.
Olivia herself seemed startled by the address, her eyes widening briefly before curving into a soft smile.
For the first time, Luca thought that smile was quite charming—the sort that would draw favor from others.
Of course, that thought evaporated the moment he glimpsed Aiden standing behind her, eyes gleaming dangerously as he glared at him…
“No, Senior.”
Oblivious to the tiger prowling behind her, Olivia smiled brightly and shook her head.
“It is not me you must trust. You must trust yourself, and your comrades.”
“Are you saying you are also my comrade?”
“If you think of me that way, I would be honored.”
Six years had already passed since he became part of the Lux Knight Brigade. In that time, he had gained comrades and accomplished deeds that granted him a sense of efficacy, but it had ended there.
Even as he carried out his duties and lived each day, he could not shake the sense that a vast hollow remained carved into his heart.
The conviction that he could never truly stand before others. The resignation that his humble origins were an insurmountable barrier to anything he might achieve.
And… all the aspects of himself that he had never wanted but been forced to accept.
“It is so exhausting to only ever hide.”
It was strange indeed. Who could have imagined that a single, unremarkable phrase would shake his entire being?
Luca’s gaze swept across the comrades behind him. They too stood in silence, watching him quietly, awaiting his choice.
Luca now recognized that the moment for his own decision had truly arrived.
It was then—
“Stop your whining.”
“What?”
“Luca. I don’t really care what your story is, but…”
Aiden, who had been standing behind Olivia with a menacing glare, finally stepped forward, unable to contain himself any longer.
“You’re not the only one enduring. They’re all enduring right alongside you.”
“What are you talking about? What could you possibly—”
“I know nothing. I’m just some nobleman you despise. But they understand, don’t they?”
Where Aiden’s chin gestured, the other unit members stood watching them.
“Stop your whining. You’ve been given a chance, and if you can’t seize it, you don’t deserve to complain.”
Aiden’s words were deliberate, a provocation.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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